


Scarface

by molewench



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Bad Parenting, Cocaine maybe, F/F, F/M, Gen, Generally very dark/edgy/angsty in tone but, Guns, I mean it IS an AU, M/M, Multi, NSFW later on, NSFW may happen later on so be prepared for that plus obviously violence and death, OOC, Original Character(s), Poly shipping, The Gay Shit(tm)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-06-08 13:28:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6856930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/molewench/pseuds/molewench
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Annie Leonhardt manages to leave Cuba during the Mariel exodus of 1980. She finds herself in a Florida refugee camp but her friend Sasha Braus has a way out for them: undertake a contract killing and arrangements will be made to get a green card. She's soon working for drug dealer Erwin Smith and shows her mettle when a deal with German drug dealers goes bad. She also brings a new level of violence to Miami. Annie is protective of her old semi-adoptive childhood best friend Mina Carolina but her stepmother knows what she does for a living and disowns her. Annie is impatient and wants it all however, including Erwin's empire, his mistress Levi Ackerman, and his underlings. Once at the top however, Annie's outrageous actions make her a target and everything comes crumbling down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> this SNK 80s gangster/organized crime/mafia AU is pretty much just a word for word retelling of the 1983 edition of the film Scarface, what else can i say hah i should probably warn you tho, this will get darker/edgier later on so be careful! also these first few chapters are kinda sucky mostly because i wrote this when i was really rusty so im sorry i promise it gets better later

In May 1900, Fidel Castro -- in an effort to normalize relations with the Carter Administration -- opened the harbor at Mariel, Cuba with the apparent intention of letting some of his people join their relatives in the United States. Within seventy-two hours, 3,000 U.S. boats were headed for Cuba. In the next few weeks, it became evident that Castro was forcing the boat owners to carry back with them not only their relatives but the dregs of his jail population. By the time the port was closed 125,000 'Marielitos' had landed in Florida. An estimated 25,000 had criminal records. This is the story of that minority -- those they call 'Los Bandidos.'

The setting; an international office's processing hall in the afternoon. Annie Leonhardt, the scar-faced one laid back uncomfortably in the rock-hard wooden seat. She was still in the young, angry prime of her life, her icy blue eyes pure in their cold, unbridled fury. She is clothed in rags spotted with holes, her shoes broken cardboard, her hair unkempt. Isolated and reserved, Annie Leonhardt was never one for socializing. Relentlessly teased as a child for her nose and small stature as a child, these only contributed to her exclusionary personality. 

From her very early days as a child, Annie was always a skilled, formidable opponent. Her sharp tongue and murderous stroke were always feared by the local townspeople, including her father, who she managed to cripple with her bare hands one fateful time after lashing out at him. Annie’s relationship with her blood father was always strained. She grew to detest both him and the training he forced her to undergo, but she knew deep within that he was the only one she could ever trust fully. Aside from the harsh and rigorous training she was put through, Annie also suffered at the hands of physical abuse from her father, who would assault her should she fail to complete her training properly. Her unique and powerful hand in martial arts quickly developed to become her signature style of fighting. While Annie knew how to handle guns, knives, and the like, her real talent and power lied in her unarmed combat training. 

Fear, her father claimed, was a weakness that only **real** humans displayed. Annie was not human. She was an unstoppable force, her only purpose to live was to follow the orders of the Leonhardt family and bring wealth and glory to their name. For that very reason, Annie learned never to cower in the corner under the force of her father’s fist, but to fight back with all she had learned how to. Anger and betrayal transformed her innocent heart into one of an apathetic killer’s, and before long anything left of her old self had since dissolved. As for her real mother, Annie never knew her. Her father never told her the truth of who she was, but Annie got paired up with several different maternal figures over the course of her youth, as her father had many flings, remarriages, consorts and the like. Most didn't last 6 months. 

Refusing to let anyone become close to her, Annie remained apathetic and unamused. No smile ever crossed her face, for in her eyes, there was nothing worth smiling for anymore. To Annie, organized crime was pointless. Each murder blurred into another. Her family's, specifically her father's, obsession with being the king of the cocaine trade in the States? Foolish and nearly impossible. It wasn’t like the young woman had a choice, though. If she had a choice, this wouldn’t be it. She quickly went over her story and her persona in her head several times before the questions started. If she messed this up, she could kiss her ass goodbye. Not that she really cared. 

Two large, bulky officers towered over the young woman. "Okay, so what do you call yourself? Barbie?" The man snickered. 

"Annie Leonhardt... you?"' 

"Where'd you learn to speak the english, Annie?" 

"In school. My father -- he was from the United States, just like you. He was a Yankee. He used to take me to the movies all the time. I learned. I watched the men, like Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney.... They helped me to learn the language. I admire them. I always knew one day, I'd be coming here, to the United States." 

"Pffsh, you're pretty eloquent for an immigrant aintcha. So where's your old man now?" 

"...He's dead. He died. Sometime, somewhere." 

"Mother?" 

"She's dead too." 

"What kind of work you do in Cuba?" 

"Oh, you know, things. I was this, that. Construction business. I work a lot with my hands. I was in the Army." 

"Any family in the States? Cousins, brother-in-law, anyone?" 

"Nobody. Everybody's dead." 

"You ever been to jail, Annie?" 

"Me? Jail? No way, no." 

"Been in a mental hospital?" 

"Yeah. On the boat coming over." Annie forced a grin, feeling her facial muscles cramping from the effort. 

"What about homosexuality, Annie? You a _dyke? You like to dress up like a man?"_

"...What is wrong with this guy? Is he joking with me or what?" Annie gestured at the other man taking notes. 

"Just answer the questions, Annie." 

The voices of the men remain cool and collected throughout. 

"Okay. No, fuck no!" 

"Arrested for vagrancy? Marijuana?" 

"Never." 

"Heroin?" 

"Cocaine?" 

"No." 

"Where'd you get the beauty scar, tough girl? Shaving your mustache?" 

"This?" Annie scratched the scar, and shrugged. "It was from when I was a kid. Other kid didn't like me, so he thought it would be fun to take a kitchen knife and attack me with it. You should see the other kid. You can't recognize him." 

"And this?" 

He holds up Annie's hand and indicates the tattoo between the thumb and second finger -- a heart with the word "Padre" scaled through it. 

"What? That's nothing. I just got it because I like the art." 

"Art, my ass! We've been seein' more and more of these. Some kind of code these guys used in the can- Pitchfork means an assassin or somethin'. You want to tell us about it, or you want to take a trip to the _detention center_?" 

"Alright, you got me." 

"I was in prison one time. For buying dollars- big deal." 

"That's pretty funny, Annie." 

"That's true. It was a Canadian tourist." 

"What, did you mug him first? Get her outta here!" The man started to walk out. 

"Hey, so I fuck Castro, what's it to you? Are you a communist or something along those lines? How would you like it? They tell you _all_ the time what to think, what to do. Do you want to be like a sheep, like everyone else? You want a stoolie on every block? You want to work eight hours a day and never own anything? What do you want? You want me to stay there? Hey, I'm no little whore, and I'm no damn thief! I am Annie Leonhardt, and I'm a political prisoner here from Cuba and I want my fucking 'Human Rights' just like President Jimmy Carter says, alright?" 

Silence. There's a certain eloquence to the blonde's plea- but it falls on disbelieving ears. One of them chuckles. "Carter should see this human right. She's good. She's very good. What do you say, Harry?" The other man hesitated. "I.. Freedomtown. Let them take a look at her. A long look." 

He pulled the door shut. "That's fine too, Harry. No hard feelings. You can send me wherever you damn please; there is nothing you can do to me, that Castro has not already done."

An hour later, Annie is riding a bus packed with the harder-looking refugee types. The noise was unbearable. The windows are caged and INS guards lined the madhouse. Sasha Braus's got her feet up on an empty seat. She's curvy yet strong, beautiful, with sizable droopy amber eyes that could light up the world -- younger than Annie, and dapper in her cheap clothing. She took a large bite of her Baby Ruth candy bar, cheeks full as she grinned at Annie. "Seat's taken." 

"So I'll sit in your lap." Annie was unamused as she pushed Sasha's feet off and sat down. She gently took the Baby Ruth out of Sasha's hand, peeled out the bar of chocolate, then returned the empty wrapper to Sasha. 

Sasha laid back in her tiny seat and put her arms behind her head. "So what'd you tell them?" 

"I told them what you said I should tell them. I told them I was in sanitation in Cuba." 

"Aw Annie- I didn't tell you sanitation. I told you to tell them you were in a sanitarium, not sanitation. But don't sweat it, the bus is pulling out now and we're still alive." She said with a hearty laugh. 

"Is that what you told me? You didn't tell me that. If you hadn't opened your mouth, they would've thought you were a horse. I told you to tell them you had TB, but you were cured, and-" 

"Fuck you, Annie, you sound just like my dad!" 

"You did nothing right. I should've left you in Cuba." Annie said with a hint of humor in her speech for once in her life. 

And so began the bus trip to Miami.


	2. Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie Leonhardt manages to leave Cuba during the Mariel exodus of 1980. She finds herself in a Florida refugee camp but her friend Sasha Braus has a way out for them: undertake a contract killing and arrangements will be made to get a green card. She's soon working for drug dealer Erwin Smith and shows her mettle when a deal with Colombian drug dealers goes bad. She also brings a new level of violence to Miami. Annie is protective of her old semi-adoptive childhood best friend Mina Carolina but her stepmother knows what she does for a living and disowns her. Annie is impatient and wants it all however, including Erwin's empire, his mistress Levi Ackerman, and his underlings. Once at the top however, Annie's outrageous actions make her a target and everything comes crumbling down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;^) the next chapter is finally here, this was written on my phone using my large yaoi hands so i also apologize for any errors!

**SIX MONTHS LATER**

It's mid-afternoon, and the dry, cracked streets were overcrowded with the hustle and bustle of various comers and goers, mostly refugees. Annie is moving down 23rd Street, her walk proud for once, in the rock of the hips and the cast of the shoulders — now accompanied by her radiant _compadre_ , Sasha. "Wow, that Bogart, fuckin' crazy huh?" Sasha broke the silence as she elbowed her best friend.

"Exactly. I haven't gotten to see in a movie so long, but that was honestly... not bad." Annie replied.

"You see Annie, he's always looking over his shoulder isn't he? Just like you.." She hunches, darting exaggerated looks over her shoulder, imitating Bogart. Annie tried her best to repress a smile, but she and Sasha both knew that was hilarious. In her black shirt with zig-zag dots and colors and the baggy pants and sunglasses, Annie's starting to look American. She even got herself a pop button pinned to her shirt that says "Fuck Off and Die." A little angsty, but Annie found that while she appreciated the refined suit wearing baddie mafioso look, she was growing fond of the whole punk-rock edgy highschooler junk. In a place, a country like this, she found that even she was going to have to just take it a little easier at some point. And her english rolled faster off her tongue, her calm and collected yet confident demeanor more pronounced.

"I don't trust anyone." "Yeah, all that gold and stuff, huh – I guess you get 5 dollars from Uncle Bob, he tells you to go get yourself a candy bar and a comic, kid clocks you in the face and takes it, you go crazy and you can't trust anyone anymore." "I wouldn't go that far, though. That's one thing I'm never going to be. I'm never going to be crazy like that. Cautious, at most. You know there ARE times where you _shouldn't_ be relaxed and completely secure." "Yeah, how do you know.." Sasha muttered under her breath. "I know." "I don't know. Sometimes, you're crazy too, Annie. Maybe not on the level of people like Bertholdt when sufficiently provoked, but up there." "Well, people who are assholes, I get a little less polite. You though, Sasha, I'd never try to hurt or 'go crazy' with you. You're like my sister, I wouldn't do that." "Yeah, sure." "Hey." Annie not-so-playfully punched Sasha as they walked on into the humid day.

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

Annie shuffled and feinted a soccer ball in an impromtu game; she's covered with sweat and tries a fanch move around a younger kid who not only steals the ball away from her but manages to lay her flat on her face. "Ah, fuck." Annie remarked as she laid there. She loved sports, mostly for the competition and the chance to feel powerful, but she hadn't played in years. The game, leaving her behind, shifted downfield. 

"Hey! Annie! Annie Leonhardt! C'mon!"

Sasha, having just arrived at the edge of the field, waves her arms overdramatically like she's trying to get a damn plane to land. Annie took quick notice of her friend, and got up, brushed herself off, and walked off the field towards her. 

"Hey Annie where ya going?" Franz called out from a distance.

"I've got better things to do."

"Chicken liver, huh?" Franz chuckled.

"Whatever." Annie ignored him and started walking with Sasha.

"You ready for the good news, Little Orphan Annie?" Sasha smirked.

"Yeah." "We can be outta here -- in thirty days. Not only that. We got a green card and a job in Miami! Now are we made, or are we made, dude?" "Sure, what do we have to do? Go to Cuba and hit the Beard or what?"

Franz is walking towards them. Annie waves at him, before shaking her head. "Forget it." "Oh yeah -- there's a hundred greenbacks in it, for _both_ of us." "Wow, you're serious? That's great. But Sasha, you need to tell your people that Franz gets out with us. He's an old highschool friend." As Pastor Nick, a couple hundred feet away, nervously smokes a cigarette, eyes roving as the guard examines his papers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man ik this is like a semi long slow build thing to begin with but i swear the action will start soon, in the next chapter is when annie assassinates the dude for the greencard and all that other jazz so get ready for the fredster


	3. Action

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello from the other side im sorry for taking 420 years but as a reward i wrote 2 chapters i feel like the story is slihgtly starting to pick up now so im at least happy about that but i have no idea what im doing im just writing this for fun hAAAAAHA also im writing the majority of this on my phone so i apologize for any mistakes

The visuals are swift, dispassionate -- almost like a documentary. The refugees storm the barbed wire at the main gate, armed with bricks and wooden slats as they started a riot. "Libertad! Libertad!" They cried out in unision. National guardsmen and state police form ranks outside. A couple refugees flee through a hole in the fence. Guards move in on them, wielding clubs. Refugees throw stones and debris from the rooftop of a barrack. Nick nervously hurries a cigarette in his mouth, and heads into a barrack. Franz is hot on his tail, however, weaving quickly through the masses and signals his friends. Inside, refugees are pulling apart their beds, going for the wooden slats. Others set fire to their mattresses. The police and guards are moving through the gates, restoring order. Loudspeakers blast. Injured refugees and unprepared guards caught in the crossfire lie bleeding on the grounds. An entire barrack now goes up in flames.

A bewildered Nick grabs his papers and valuables. Sasha runs up on him. Nick sees her, senses danger, flees down the aisle with his satchel, intersecting other panicked refugees. Sasha follows. Nick stumbles into a bed frame, shatters his glasses, then runs on into the smoke and flame. Out of which Annie now appears, stiletto in hand. "Nick." The balding middle-aged man snapped his head to look at the source of the voice. "This is for all the friends you fucked." The work is fast. The stiletto punches nine quick holes in his lungs and his heart, and the figure of death is gone. Nick staggers wildly in the smoke, uncomprehending eyes encased in broken glasses before tumbling down to the concrete in a pool of crimson. The riot is over. The grounds are still, smoke and debris the aftermath.

An immigration officer passes a sheet of documents across a desk into a pair of hands. A green card is pinned to the top of the stack. It says "ANNIE LEONHARDT" and it has a picture and stamps. It's official, as Annie examines quite contentedly, the rewards of her efforts.

Downtown Miami is rising ubiquitously above Biscayne Bay, blossoming skyscrapers, workmen, huge cranes, glass, mirrors booming upwards into a beautiful blue Florida sky, fleeced with perfectly white clouds. Past banks of glass like Caribank, Amerifirst, and a giant billboard: **HOW ABOUT A MILLION DOLLAR LOAN? COME TALK TO US... AT THE BANCO DE MIAMI... TODAY!** A car sticker going by with the image of the American flag and the reminder: "Will the last american leaving Miami please bring flag?" Annie and Sasha bop along the street in their hand-me-down clothes, oogling the chicas and the bodegas (in a plush modern area of Miami). Boats. Buildings. Cars. They had both been in upscale cities before, but this was the first time they had seen the outside of a refugee camp in months. They were like children in a candy store.

Sasha's attention was all over the place as she took in the pastel city environment."Man, they weren't kidding around. Can you believe this place?"

"I guess."

Sasha pointed to a little old man walking towards them. "See that old guy over there? Yeah. Millionaire. How do you know?" Annie jokingly rolled her eyes. "How?" Sasha grinned. "Go over there. Ask him, 'gimme some money'. He'll give you the silver right out of his pants -- that's America, Annie, that's what they do here." "Yeah?" Annie asked, in an almost believing tone. Sasha was about to continue spouting America commentary before a familiar voice rang out behind them. The two turned to look behind them, confused.

"Hey! Hey! Sasha Braus!" A small man, head shaved and only had about 2 inches on Annie, the shortest girl in the business came running up to them. "Oh my god, Connie! How are you, dude??" Sasha wrapped Connie in a bear hug, lifting him off the ground. "Oh hey, Connie. I didn't think we'd be seeing you again so soon, welcome back." Annie wasn't much for physical contact, but she enjoyed seeing Sasha and her best friend reunited. "Well, I'm alive! Also, I think you're gonna break me in half." "Woops, sorry." Sasha gently put Connie back down. "Forgot how delicate and ballerina-like you were." She winked at him. "Godd, shut up Sasha. I'm just happy I survived stupidtown, that place was a complete madhouse." "Certainly." "I also figured out an awesome way to pick up the _ladies_. Wanna see?"

Annie shifted her weight onto the other leg, arms crossed. Sasha hammily flashed an over-the-top grin at the invisible camera, imitating one of those pastel veneer 50s shows. "Who else but Connie? So what has Conniesanova come up this time?" "Okay so you wanna score one of these girls, watch me." He wiggles his tongue up and down, fast like a small whirring motor part, then slips it back into his mouth in the flick of an eye. "What the hell is that for -- eating bugs? That's disgusting." Cringe washed over the tiny blonde, in an awesome wave. Sasha just straight up busted out laughing at the sight. "You think so huh? Well you don't know shit about chicks. I'm telling you, they see this, they know. They go crazy. They don't resist me." He does it again, like the rectum losing its normal attachments within the body and telescoping out through the anus during an anal prolapse. Sasha tries but lacks the speed and agility, prompting Connie's laughter. As they walk, Connie stops and double checks himself in a shop window, adjusting the collar of his noisy hawaiian shirt. "Jesus." Annie muttered under her breath. "Takes practice, but they just love it when you flop those weenies and vagibas, for the, ahem, three year olds in our gang."

"Oooh... Connie! How about that one?" Sasha pointed to a tall, cool blonde across the avenue. "No problem." Annie followed behind Sasha with an unimpressed yet slightly amused look. The three walk right out into the avenue, cars honking angrily. "Come on." Sasha beckoned. Connie follows as Annie now moves across the opposite lane, a car screeching to a halt in front of her. "Okay Robert Redford, strut your stuff." Sasha pointed. The blonde stranger has paused to look in a shop window. Connie stops alongside, pretending to look. When he catches her eyes, he flicks his tongue. She looks at him, confused, then back into the window. Connie looks back at Annie, winks, slides closer to her. Annie and Sasha, waiting off to the side, catch the gaze of a somber child, four, toddling along with its mom. Sasha makes her own version of a funny face at the kid, who looks back at her puzzled. Annie takes notice of this, and ignores Connie's escapades to hesitantly stick her tongue out at it. The kid now smiles. The mother looks over. The pair shrug. She smiles and moves along.

Meanwhile, Connie has moved close to the blonde and suggests something, his eyebrows raising as he smiled crookedly at her. He didn't even really have his heart in it– all of his attempts at romance were slowly turning into nothing more than comedy routines for his friends. It takes a moment, before the blonde smacks him across the face and walks away. Annie walks back over to him, mocking. "You've got it all mixed up, Cannoli. In this country, first you get the money, then you get the power and when you have the power, then you get your consorts -- and then, you have the world by the balls. Just be happy you have a green card and a guy who knows a guy that's getting us a job." "Eh, I guess so." Connie kicked a pebble next to his foot, sticking his hands in his pockets. Sasha came back up to the dynamic duo, having heard their exchange from a distance as she munched on a candy bar. "Hey guys, I'm happy you're having fun and all, but we do kinda have work to do." The two looked at her. "...Okay. So where's this job?" Connie raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, my friends are gonna take care of everything."


	4. El Mono

The parking lot is crammed with gargantuan cars and casual Cubans in sports clothes bunched in conversations around their wheels or at the ice cream stand. The inside is a brightly lit glitterdome with fancy mirrors and chandelier effects, Spanish in influence, and every It combines the social functions of a table is taken. family restaurant, cafe, tourist haunt and late-night watering hole for various beasts of prey. The waitresses move like well-oiled troops along the paths to the kitchen, turning the tables faster than the death of a government bill to save the rainforest. Past the pots and the pans and the steam and the yelling cooks -- to the deepest, darkest recess of this oily underworld... to reveal Annie scrubbing grease off the pots and Sasha washing a stack of dishes. They're both filthy and exhausted. A dish slips through Sasha's fingers and crashes to the floor. They glared at each other, not irritated or even angry anymore. All they felt was disappointment. "Your 'big shot' friend better come up with something soon. I did not come to America to break my fucking back." "Hey, he's coming, okay! What do you want, Annie?" 

A few hours passed as night descended on the city, and Sasha and Annie looked out the cubbyhole at the nearby diners. Young Cuban guys with chiquitas drift in with their fancy clothes, diamonds and -- the mark of status -- large bodyguards. They're out front with the flash, shaking hands with friends, kissing, talking loud, familiar with the waitresses. Staring out the smeared window enraptured are Sasha and Annie, wiping the sweat off their faces with towels.

"Look at that girl dude, wow! I don't want to seem creepy, but I'd grasp her meat if you know what I mean." Sasha jokingly wiggled her eyebrows at her grumpy companion. "Yeah, look at the punk with her. Normally I'd ask what he has that I don't, but just look at his clothes. Fucking pizzaz. A little coke money sure isn't hurting anyone lately." "I know. These guys have literally no character, though. They look like a bunch of dried up onions, and their 'rippling pecs' look like tonka toys strapped to a punching bag." "Exactly." Annie's hands were shriveled white from dishwater.

"Hey you two, outside! You got company." The cook suddenly yelled out for them. "That's him -- El Mono's here!" Annie was contemptuous of the name, staring down at the sink. "El Mono? Shit..."

Auruo Bossard (El Mono -- "The Monkey") is so named because he looks like one. Nervous yet judging, crooked, darting eyes, feverish intelligence, constantly smoking a cigarette in an attempt to be intimidating like his higher up Ackerman and coughing between words, he cuts a muscular but awkward figure at the wheel of a big beige Coupe De Ville, idling the motor. Accompanying him is Eldo Jin, eating a large foot and a half banana. In contrast he's a bit more amiable and well-built with a sharp jawline and that sort of attractive farmboy charm to him. "Hey Auruo, Eldo, this is my friend I told you about. Annie Leonhardt." Sasha jogged up to the rolled-down car window. Eldo mumbles something indistinct, Auruo just stares briefly scanning the girl up and down as she hangs back, hands shoved in her trouser pockets. Auruo's eyes move back to Sasha. 

"I got something for you." "That's nice. What do we–" "Oh yeah." Auruo interrupted Annie, inhaling loudly in an irritating fashion. "We have to unload a boat -- grass, twenty-five tons -- that's what we gotta do. You get five hundred each." "Okay!" Sasha leaned down slightly, talking into Annie's ear. "What'd I tell you, see–" "Is this a joke? What do you think we are -- baggage handlers?" Auruo looks at the blonde somewhat incredulously as she wipes her hands on her greasy apron while she talks. "Five hundred dollars -- shit! What did I do for you two in prison? What was the Pastor hit -- a game of dominoes to you? You're not talking to a couple of side whores here." Auruo and Eldo stared at her, shocked. "Hey Annie, c'mon, it's okay Auruo, we..." "Sasha, be quiet." Auruo snickers, his eyes shifting to Eldo who shakes his head and laughs. Auruo leaned out of the window a little further, his arm resting on the door. "So what's it with this dishwasher you got? Doesn't she think we could've gotten some other space cadet to do the Pastor -- cheaper even. Fifty bucks?" Annie shrugged, her patience wearing thin. "So why didn't you? And who are you calling a dishwasher? I'll wipe your monkeyshit ass up and down this Boulevard." Annie stepped forward, before Sasha grabbed her by the collar. "Annie, Annie, cool it-" In the car, Auruo looks over at Eldo.

"Chick's a lunatic, let's go." "What about those Russians..." Eldo muses to himself, when an idea suddenly crosses Auruo's mind. "Yeah... Alright smartass, you'd rather make some big bucks? You know anything about cocaine?" "You're kidding." Annie crossed her arms. "There's a bunch of corrupt cops with some Germans. Flying in Friday. New guys. They say they got two keys for us for openers. Pure coke. In a motel over in Miami Beach." "Cut to the chase." "I want you two to go over there, and if it's what they say it is, pay 'em and bring it back. You do that, you'll make five grand." Sasha looked a bit hesitant, before rolling back into happy-go-lucky mode. "Hey, that sounds great, Annie! What do you say?" Annie says nothing. "You know how to handle a machine gun?" "Yes. I was in the Army for a short time with my partner." "You're gonna need a couple other guys..." Sasha gave Auruo a confident smile. "No problem." "Alright, meet me at  Dennis' place Friday at noon. You get the money then. Something happens to the money, _pobrecito_ , and my boss is gonna stick your head up your asses faster than a rabbit gets fucked." Auruo throws the remains of his cigarette at their feet and pulls the Coupe De ville out of the lot.

Sasha paused, before letting out a huge sigh of relief. "Annie, I'm scared. You're pushing your luck." The two started walking away. "You worry too much about me, Sasha. It'll be fine. Who are these Germans he's talking about?" Annie stripped off her greasy apron. "Huh? Why does it matte–"

"Where you greasers goin', huh? I got plenty of plates here." The cook suddenly intersected. "Wash yourself. I just retired." Annie threw her dirt and oil-encrusted apron at the cook. "What the fuck you gonna do!" "Look after my investments." Sasha stood there confused, having been spaced out before realizing that she should probably do the same. Annie took off into a run, Sasha hastily throwing off her dirty uniform and following after Annie.


	5. Threat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for those who dont know dennis and ralph in the snkverse were two corrupt MP dudes lel

The somewhat run-down, art-deco cheaper hotels peppered the landscape of South Miami Beach. The porches are filled with senior citizens playing cards, reading papers, staring, and slowly walking down the street. The ramshackle sedan, jammed with Sasha and her gang, rattles past. It's a beaten-up white Monte Carlo, jacked up on its springs with dune buggy threads and in desperate need of a new paint job. You'd arrest these guys on sight.

Inside the sedan, Franz turns down the salsa beat on the radio, smoking a cigarette tensely. Driving is Sasha. In the dilapidated backseat are Connie, our dashing ex-cop, and our "heroine" Annie. Reflecting the tension, Sasha tries to calm down by whistling a tune and talking under her breath as she waits for a light to change.

"Hey, look at that girl, huh?" At the curb, an old woman hunchbacks her way in front of the young woman, who is coming off the beach in a bikini, blocking her off. Franz stretched his neck to look over. "Braus, are you crazy? She's 103 years old." "Not her, dummy! The other girl." The light changed, and Sasha was too busy checking the chick out to notice. "Drive, will you." Annie said, mockingly. "Sure, sure, sorry." Sasha looked in the rearview mirror. "What're you wearing the face for?"

"It's nothing. I'm just a little... uneasy is all." Connie made a dismissive hand gesture. Through the windshield, the sign of a motel -- THE SUN RAY -- is coming closer. "Okay, this is it. Pull over across the street." The motel is coming closer in silence. "The money stays in the trunk until I come out and get it. Me. No one else. If I'm not out in fifteen minutes or so- something's wrong. Room 9. Come, Franz." "Sure thing." As Sasha pulls the car up, they pull out an Ingram Model-10 machine pistol with folding butt and suppressor, ten inches of kill power capable of firing 1100 rounds a minute -- and it fits nicely into a bag. Annie put her hand on the side of the car before hopping over the side to get out. "Let's go."

Annie and Franz come slowly, gingerly down an exterior corridor to a room marked "9". Nodding to Franz who remains in the stairwell with the Ingram machine pistol, Annie knocks. Pause. The door's opened casually by an unkempt, somewhat tall German, Dennis "The Toad" Eibringer. He's in his late 20s, coffee stained white shirt hanging over his polyester pants, old acne scars on his face and a mustache above his lips that looked like a dead mouse. He's good-natured, a nice guy, he smiles.

"Hey, _kumpel..._ " He spread his arms in such a fashion to indicate he's clean. Not in the literal sense, as Annie looking his greasy figure up and down quickly showed. Annie, stepping into the conventionally tasteless orange and blue motel room (with heavy blue drapes blocking the windows), spreads her hands in a similar posture indicating she too is not carrying; but this is only symbolic, it's not meant to be a body search. As she steps in, Annie puts on a fake mask of cordiality. "How are you?" She soon took note of the other person in the room. A tough-looking but lazy and older man with short messy hair and a goatee, "The Lizard"; he's tinier than the Toad. Dennis looks around the corridor, before easing the door closed. "Mind leaving the door open so my companion knows everything's okay?" Dennis shrugs and readjusts, leaving it open a few inches, the conversation clipped and nervous. "Sure, no problem... this is Ralph." "Hello, Ralph."

He nods woodenly, stays across the room. Behind him, the television set is on the Cable Newswatch. The men intermittently flick their eyes to it, soothing the tension. "I'm Dennis..." He paused. "Yes, I'm Annie. So Auruo says you're okay." "Yeah, Auruo's all-right." "You know him?" "Auruo, yeah, I talk to him on the phone." "Okay..." "Okay what? You got the money?" "Yes, do you have the 'stuff'?" " _Suuure_ I got the stuff, but I don't got it right here with me. I got it- close by." Annie glared at him. "Yeah, well, I don't 'got it' either, I have it close by too." "Where, in the car? How far's your stuff?" "No, not in the car." Annie paces back towards the door casually, to make sure Franz is still there, the Lizard staring at her. "How about you? Where's your stuff?" "Not far. Not far at all." Pause. Everything seems okay. Dennis flashed an awkward smile at Franz, who was leaning on the stairway rails. Franz glanced back at Connie and Sasha, who were thumb wrestling and making silly faces at each other in the car.

"Okay. Do you want me to walk out, come back in, and we start over again?" Dennis chuckled before quickly changing the subject. "Where you from, Annie?" Annie's eyes check out the bathroom. "What difference does it make where I'm from?" Dennis held his hands up in a defensive manner. "Woah, calm down- I like to get to know who I do business with is all." It's like he's stalling for time. The Lizard has made a move somewhere off-center and is now sitting on the bed next to a large pillow, coiled and always watching. Franz feels a sudden pang of anxiety, and starts easing towards the doorway in an attempt to get a closer look. Behind him, a gunman suddenly rises up from the stairs leading downwards from the small platform and aims a gun at his back. "Well, you'll get to know me once you actually do business with me and stop fucking around, _Dennis_." Annie started to approach the larger man. "Hey, I'm just a friendly guy, maybe you don't..." "What's the stall here? Is your guy late or somethi-" There's suddenly a door slamming somewhere outside, then commotion. Two gunmen ambush Franz from behind and hold their weapons to him, forcing him into the hotel room. "Annie!" He cries out. Annie goes for her cheap handgun when she hears a frightening manly yet high-pitched shriek, like a bird.

"Don't! Get up! Now shithead!" He's standing there with a .32 pulled out from under the pillow pointed steady at her, his eyes like angry steel. There's no mistaking his ability to shoot. Dennis pulls a 9mm out of the small of his back and approaches Annie. Franz is shoved into the room, followed by the two Germans, "The Kids". They slam the door, both carrying Uzis with silencers, neither of them higher than five-four, (or older than twenty, with their straight blonde hair cut across their blank eyes they look like hungry little piranhas careless about killing) muttering with the Lizard in fast German slang. As Dennis strips the handgun from Annie, she is unfazed. "Frog face, you just fucked up. You steal from me, you're dead." Dennis shrugs, he couldn't care less. "Yeah, okay, you gonna give me the cash or am I gonna kill your little fuck buddy first? 'Fore I kill you?" "Try sticking your head up your ass. See if it fits." Dennis, completing the body search, rips out the stiletto taped to the small of Annie's back. As he mutters something in German to the two kids who shove Franz into the bathroom, they produce strands of thick rope. Even more worrisome is the chainsaw that the Lizard now pulls out of the suitcase under the bed. Dennis begins assembling it as Lizard, still covering Annie with his gun while Dennis forces her into the bathroom, completes the deadpan process by turning up the volume on the television set. The news is about a drug-related triple-homicide.

Connie sits at the wheel of the sedan, parked across the street. Sasha paces outside the car, and glances at the motel. A tiny man -- the Lizard -- steps out in shadow in the parking lot of the Sun-Ray across the street, looks around, sees nothing, and casually goes back in. Sasha looks at her cheap watch.

Franz hangs suspended on the ropes from the top of the shower curtain bar, his legs straddling the edge of the bathtub. Dennis slapes a tape over his mouth. Annie, covered by the two kids, watches from the lip of the bathroom. She bucks angrily but the two kids ram their pistols up against her temple and pin her to the door. Franz looks at Annie; the eyes between them steady. They're dead and they know it. Dennis, well-prepared, connects a voltage adapter and extension cord. "You watch what happens to your buddy here, okay? If you don't want this to happen to you, you get the money." Lizard reenters the room, shakes his head at Dennis who nods and turns on the whirring machine. Dennis smiles amiably and angles the chainsaw slowly towards Franz. The two kids press tight against Annie, guns pointed at her brain. Franz screams as the chainsaw comes down and slices into his stomach. Blood pours everywhere as he pulls his head back, just as blood comes pouring out of his mouth. Annie's expression is one of shock and rage. The Lizard has no expression on his face. The machine cuts off. Dennis steps back from the tub, blood spattered on his shirt, examining his first cut like a butcher. He glances at Annie. "Now the leg, huh?" Franz is slumped by one arm like a cow on a strap, streaming blood, eyes conscious and horrified; a terrifying sight. The chainsaw whirrs once more, the buzz and sound of the television almost deafening.

Sasha, definitely suspecting something now, moves with Connie across the parking lot of the Sun-Ray Motel. They signal and separate.

Dennis turns off the chainsaw and steps back, now drenched with Franz's blood, totally unaffected. He looks at Annie. Annie glances back at him with fury, tears begging to dot her eyes but even still she refuses to die like a dog. "Okay, my 'Scarface', you can die too. Makes no difference to me." He nods at his underlings. The kids shove Annie forward, Franz lying hunkered at his feet in the bathtub, in the steam of his blood, piss dead. Sahsa moves crouched down the exterior corridor, Ingram pistol in hand, past an older couple who pretend not to notice. At the door of Room 9, Sasha waits, listens...

The kids are starting to strap Annie up to the top of the shower. The Lizard watches from the lip of the bathroom, impassively. "Last chance, _fotze?_ " Annie, devastated, still spits in his face. "Go fuck yourself." Dennis' eyes narrow. Kid one slaps the tape across Annie's mouth. Kid two reaches up to tighten the overhead strap to Annie's wrist. Dennis turns on his chainsaw when suddenly there's a gunshot from the hall. The door smashes open and Sasha barrels through and shoots a surprised Lizard as he raises his pistol. He crashes backwards into the room, wounded. Everything happens in a matter of moments. Sasha is at the lip of the bathroom, she fires and hits kid one who is turning, in the neck. Annie, not tied up yet, spins on kid two and smashes the unloosened strap across his face, sending him reeling across the bathroom. Dennis, chainsaw in hand, slashes at Sasha. Sasha fires a burst into him and Dennis crashes backwards. Sasha spins into a wall, having been hit in the side. The Lizard, wounded on his knees, is firing his .32 at her. In the background, the window simultaneously blows out as Connie appears firing a burst with his Ingram. The Lizard crumples forward on his knees, foaming blood.

Annie, with the tape still stuck across her mouth, smashes kid two, pinned against the blood-stained sink, with the stock of her own Ingram. In the midst of this, Dennis jumps up, wounded but with strength, he hauls ass out the motel room door hysterical, gripping the whirring chainsaw in a reflex action.

Connie, climbing through the window, fires at him. Meanwhile, kid two, with a rattlesnake life in him, produces a knife out of nowhere, just missing Annie's stomach by a half-second as she dances back, getting a grip on the machine pistol. She blows kid two away point-blank, putting another ten craters in the mirror of the now-wrecked motel room. Annie, yelling, whirls after Dennis. "I got him!" Sasha, holding her side, empties her pistol on kid one who is still twitching. Connie unfortunately sees Franz, and gags. The senior citizens, playing Mahjong on the porch, mutter in astonishment as Dennis staggers out into the parking lot, blood flying, chainsaw in hand, moving like a lima bean with cancer. Their eyes follow as Annie comes out, walking after him deliberately, eyes set in cold fury, machine gun swinging loosely at her side. There's no rush, no fear of the police, getting even is all that counts. She stands behind Dennis.

"Your turn, _du hurensohn!_ " Dennis whips around to the voice, eyes stark with terror. Annie empties the clip into Dennis, blowing him apart. The bystanders just stare, stunned by the ferocity. Then an old lady faints. Dennis' body lying awkwardly arched in the gutter, Annie turns and with a passing disinterested glimpse at her audience, calmly strolls back into the motel; the distance and the light sufficient to conceal Annie's possible identification. Annie rushes to Sasha and helps her up, who was trying to ignore the searing pain and get up off of the floor. "Sasha, are you okay?" Sasha nods. "Connie, get the car. Fast!" "Okay!" Connie sprints out of the room, down the stairs and towards the car. Annie strides into the shambles of Room 9, past the bodies and busted furniture to the suitcase on the bed from which Dennis pulled the chainsaw. The TV news still plays in the corner. Inside are several kilo-sized stacks of cocaine. She shuts the suitcase, exits, stops, looks in the bathroom at the corpse of Franz Kefka. She goes, stoops, brushes her finger against the heart-shaped pendant around his neck engraved with the name 'Hannah'. "I'm sorry." She said under her breath, before taking it from him and placing it in her shirt pocket. She leaves.

Connie has the sedan waiting in the parking lot. Annie dashes out, yells "Step on it!" and jumps in, the car speeding off. Past the senior citizens who are retreating inside their rooms. The white Monte Carlo disappears into the traffic of the Strip as two cop cars come screaming past them from the opposite direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "To the owner of the white sedan- you left your lights on." - Patrick Star, Band Geeks, orig. Spongebob Squarepants circa 2002


	6. Erwin Smith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for gods saKE IVE TRIED TO WRITE THIS CHAPTER LIKE 3 TIMES OK I HAD IT BUT THEN MY CAT HIT THE OFF BUTTON AND IT DIDNT SAVE WHEN I HIT SAVE AND I LOST EVERYTHINJ AND NOW I WEEP i'm sorry if this isnt A++++ quality

It was dusk, and the orange sun was beginning to fade off into the horizon. The booth is in the busy parking lot, Annie on the phone. Connie and Sasha wait in the sedan.

"Yes, a bunch of cowboys! Someone fucked up." Auruo's voice was on the other end. "Look, let me check it out right away!" "You do that Auruo, you do that." "You got the money?" "Yeah-- I got the yeyo and- "You got the yeyo? Bring it here." "Fuck you. I'm taking it to the boss myself. Not you. Me." Annie hangs up, and walks back to the sedan.

On Bricknell Avenue in a swank high-rise district adjacent to Coconut Grove and Coral Gables, the hub of South Miami laid Smith's apartment. The sun had set off in the distance, and the dimly lit streets were now enveloped with darkness. The doorman shows Auruo, Sasha, her side bandaged, and Annie, carrying the suitcase, through giant glass portals past heavily armed security cops in the lobby. A deluxe apartment with the latest in electronic security and surveillance, and a profusion of mirrors and luxury items... and a hefty, German-looking bodyguard, small and intense golden eyes quietly trained like a Doberman pinscher.

The boss, or 'Commander' as some dubbed him, referencing his past military history, Erwin Smith, comes down a carpeted corridor. He was certainly dressed for dinner, being in an expensive suit and shoes, somewhat preoccupied as he greets Annie, then Sasha with an effusion of warmth. He's of German-American extraction, highly Americanized in a groomed and handsome sort of way, on the tall and muscular side at 6'2", his blonde hair shaved on the sides and neatly parted on the left. While he had a serious but affable way of presenting himself, his steely blue eyes and height carried an air of danger about him.

"How are you, Leonhardt? It's a pleasure to meet you. Would you be interested in a drink?" "Mr. Smith... it's a real pleasure." Erwin shakes hands with Sasha. "What about you?" Sasha was still a little bit awed by the Smith abode as well as the man who owned it. "..Fine, yeah!" Erwin glanced at the bandages around Sasha's waist. "Sasha Braus, she was with us on the job." Sasha shrugged and worked her arm, showing them that the wound doesn't bother her too much now. "Just the flesh. It went right through.." Erwin headed for the bar. "Yes, Auruo here tells me good things about you two." Annie glared at Auruo. "Yeah. Auruo's terrific." "Not to mention, of course, the nice job you women did for me on that Communist Pastor Nick." "You don't have to mention it. That was enjoyable." Erwin smiled, liking Annie's courage. "Scotch? Gin? Rum?" "Gin's fine." Erwin poured it into a highball glass. "Yes, I need someone with steel in their hearts. I need them close to me, a person like you Annie -- and your partner here." "Yes, well." Still a little overwhelmed by the opulence of the place, her clothes feeling narrow and cheap on her, Annie steps forward and puts the suitcase up on the bar with the gin, which Erwin passes to her, eyeing the suitcase.

"Two keys. That's it. That's the reason Franz died, because of this shit. And here's the money. It's my gift to you -- from me." Pause. Erwin shakes his head, sighs. "It's too bad about your friend, Annie. If people would do business the right way, there wouldn't be as many _accidents_ like this." He glances hard at Auruo, who squirms. Without opening it, Erwin signals the blonde bodyguard who takes the suitcase and the money from under Annie's nose. "Don't think I don't appreciate this gesture, Annie. You'll find in this business, if you stay loyal you'll move up and you'll move up fast. To our departed friend, Franz Kefka, and to good health." He raised his glass, before they all drank the toast. "Then you find out the biggest headache won't be bringing in the stuff, but figuring out what to do with all of the cash." "Geez, I hope I have that problem someday." Sasha took Annie's glass and slurped from it.

Erwin looks, distracted, down the corridor from which he came, to Reiner, the bodyguard. "Where's Levi? And his cousin? Go get them, will you, Reiner?" The big bodyguard exits smoothly. Erwin turned back to his guests. "Ackerman and his cousin are skilled assassins, some of the best I've ever had, but Levi... Levi is something. He spends half of his life dressing, the other half undressing." Annie was preoccupied with a tabloid magazine that was laying on the coffee table, as she casually crossed her legs. "I guess you gotta catch her in the middle, huh?" Sasha answered. Erwin smiled. "Yes, when he isn't looking- What would you say to a little food?" He finished his drink at an impatient pace. "Yeah, sure." Annie said absent-mindedly. "Are you kidding? I could eat a horse, give it here!"

"Here they come, Mr. Smith." Sasha and Annie both look up, their eyes tumbling on the most beautiful brunette they've ever seen. No, not the 30-something year old man next to her. The lady, is coming down the glassed-in elevator next to her relative, adjusting her unzipped motorcycle jacket. Next to her was a muscular, yet smaller in stature, intimidating man in a black suit. His hair resembled Erwin's, but he had dark hair and the hair on top of his head was a bit longer than Erwin's and his bangs were in a curtains style.

The two strolled out of the elevator. "Where where you, Levi, it's ten and I'm hungry. "You're always hungry, you should try starving." Erwin laughed. "You look good today as well, Mikasa." She doesn't answer, her eyes flicking disinterestedly over Sasha and Annie, presuming what the evening's going to be and not too happy about it.

"I want you to meet some friends of mine. Sasha Braus... Mikasa Ackerman... Annie Leonhardt... Levi Ackerman." "Hello." The brunette lightly brushed her fingers against the dark red scarf coiled around her neck. Confusing, since this was summer in the middle of Miami. "...Hi." Sasha was equally impressed. "Uuuh, yeah, hi." "I assume we're going to be a, _ahem_ , sixsome. Where are we having dinner?" The man inquired. "Oh, I thought we'd eat at the Babylon—" "Again? If anyone wanted to assassinate you, you wouldn't be too hard to find." "Me? I'm not sure who would want to kill me. So far the only people I've made enemies with are small-time thugs." "You never know, do you? Maybe the catcher on that Little League team of yours." Neatly avoiding his intended kiss, he slips by him towards the door, his throat flashing a $20,000 strip of jewelry.

"Come on, Erwin, let's go." Tracking a cool, polished hauteur, he exits the apartment. Smith, after a pause, calls after his men. "Alright, let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time on fanfiction writing 101 they get to go to a club and shit and adventure happens


	7. The Babylon

We know this is no workingman's dive when Smith piles them out of his Rolls, and the carhops are moving Bugattis, Lamborghinis and Corniches in a long snaking line down the driveway. Single girls in high-collared silver lame jumpsuits with cinched waists. prowl like big glistening tents back and forth across the entry doors, rich young coiffed playboys in their Porsches honking their horns in appreciation.

The interior is built like three or four plush apartments that run together on three separate levels with imaginative angles, mirrors, swimming pool, bars, twenty-piece band, hundreds of tropical plants, dance floor, video games, computers and a restaurant. It's a lavish fun spot, a drug dealer haven and nighttime capital of South America. The crowd is mostly young, rich and happy and a lot of them coked; the girls, upperclass in sleek dresses, trim figures, heels, hats, "sensuous" bodies, yell as they dance to an American synth music beat.

The waitresses, mostly blondes, wear little coca chanel hats pinned to their heads and the barest pants with hose and high heels. Rich young guys with a lot of gold and diamonds on their necks and hands huddle briefly in groups or chat. Down at the vid games are younger chicks in jeans and tough-looking tank tops with "Motherfuckah" and "Fuck Me" written on them, like true edgy young adults. A few dudes are there as well. Connie's coming from the toilets, tries to pick one of them up.

"So what do you say, huh?" He flashes his tongue. He looks at him, amused. "You have a dollar?" "Sure I got a dollar, what do you think I am, poor?" The brunette indicated the machine, gesturing to it with his large hand. "Put it in, let's play. "I- had other things in mind." "Hey, you check out on this and we'll talk about other things. My name's Bertholdt, by the way." Connie looked off, concerned, then confronted the complex machine. "Frick, how do you play this thing?"

Erwin Smith, slightly intoxicated, takes his heart pill with a slug of champagne. He sits next to Annie and Sasha, who are agog at all this wealth. Mikasa is sandwiched in between Levi and Reiner, Auruo sitting on the edge of the cushioned seat trying not to fall off. "Hey, I thought this was going to be a 'sixsome'." Mikasa said, irritated as her nostrils were uncomfortably filled with the scent of too much Axe bodywash. Sasha and Annie were preoccupied, talking with some blonde girl friend who has stopped by, calling herself "Krista". They were all sitting at the best table in the place, finishing up a giant meal. There was an empty spot in between Reiner and Annie, belonging to Connie yet they refused to move, waiting for him as Auruo nearly slid off of the edge from being squeezed in there.

"Over there, Annie, that's Traute Carven. She and her companion Kenny Ackerman, they have a big distribution set up here to Houston and Tucson. You'll find out soon enough that the Ackermans have made quite a name for themselves in the criminal underworld." Kenny and Traute both looked powerful and competent, well-dressed in conversation with a party of people. "That guy there, in the orange shirt -- Grisha Jaeger. He may not act like it, but he's bad news. Stone cold killer if there ever was one. Stay away." Grisha is at a table with another guy and a beautiful woman. "The balding guy, with the women is Djel Sanes. You wouldn't know it to look at him but he's got more cash than anybody in here. He was also involved with that whole Wall Cult scandal just like Nick a couple years back, and he's an ex-cop. A real Schwein..." Djel is dressed like a cheap slob and playing up to a bunch of girls.

"...Do you know what a Schwein is, Annie?" "'Schwein'? No Erwin, what's a Schwein? Something in German?" "Yes. It's German for pig. It's a man who has more than what he needs, so he doesn't fly straight anhmore, you know. That's one of the bigger problems in this business, Annie, there's too many 'schweins' and they're the ones you have to watch out for. If they can screw you out of an extra dime, they'll rip you and flip you and then fuck you with a stick for the pure pleasure of it. You see, it all comes down to one thing, Annie, never forget it. Lesson number one -- don't underestimate the other person's greed."

"Lesson number two -- don't get high on your own supply." Levi chirped in, having finished the small book he was fiddling with. The girl friend has departed and Sasha turns her attention back to them, bored. "That's correct. Of course, not everyone follows the rules." He eyed Levi. The head waiter suddenly walked up to their table. "There you go, Mr. Smith." He pops the champagne cork and pours Dom Pérignon for Smith. "Give it to everyone and bring another, will you Jack?" The head waiter nods and hurries off. "Five hundred and fifty dollars for this bottle, Annie, what do you think of that? For a bunch of grapes -- isn't that something?" Mikasa leaned in towards Sasha and Annie. "In France, it costs $100 but don't tell anyone in Miami." Sasha catches her eye. She looks away. A woman passes the table. Smith calls out. "Hey, Petra -- friend."

"Hey, Erwin.." "How is the case coming?" The redhead's eyes thread the table. Her eyes are sizable and expressive, her voice slightly high-pitched and warm, chewing bubblegum, her manner cool but amicable with Smith. She looked more like a disney princess than a corrupt criminal. This is Petra Ral, Miami lawyer.

"I should've come to, instead of that moron, Schultz." "Oh Gunther's a good lawyer, I taught him everything he knows." "Yeah, almost everything." Auruo muttered to himself. Petra looked over the table. "Hey, at least you actually look good for once." Petra lightly smacked Auruo's face and pinched his cheek in an affectionate way. "Guuhhh, just leave me be. You're like an embarassing mother." "Haha, well, enjoy yourselves!" She ambles off. "That woman is probably the best lawyer in Miami." Erwin raised his champagne glass. "So, here's to old friends... and new friends." They toast, Annie tasting it like it was Holy Water.

"Well, Annie?" "I mean, you weren't joking. This is good stuff, Erwin." Erwin likes the kid, and pats her on the shoulder. He looked at her run-down threads, and produced a small bundle of cash. "Here, you and your friend should get yourself some new clothes, some $500 suits, you'll look real sharp. I'd like you and your friends to handle some things for me, Annie, work with Auruo here. We're doing something big next month, running a string of mules out of Columbia. If you do good on that, there will be other things." Auruo doesn't like it, folding his arms and looking away. "Hey, that sounds like fun, Erwin. Thanks." Sasha smiles. The music shifts to slow dancing.

Mikasa moves her hand, trying to wave away all of the cigarette smoke in the air. "So, you want to dance, Levi or you want to sit here and have a heart attack?" "I'd rather have a heart attack." Mikasa uncomfortably rose up from her seat, as she was stuck in the middle of everyone else. "Don't foam into the Dom Perignon." She glanced at Auruo, sitting there obediently. Her eyes say forget it. She looks at Annie and Sasha. "How about you two?" Annie raises an eyebrow at the brunette, Sasha's face flushing red. "Oh, um, if you want to- I mean, if you really feel like it..." Annie looked at Levi. "Go ahead." He waved his hand nonchalantly, dismissing the trio.

Sasha and Annie walk to the floor, leading Mikasa. It's not so much an act of walking as it is an act of war, a tank bouncing anything or anybody off that gets in the way. Annie in particular just proceeds in a straight dead line, eyes forward. It's not that she doesn't see the people she bumps off, it's that she couldn't care less.

Erwin glanced over at Levi. "What do you think?" "I think they're a bunch of fucking plebs." "Maybe so-- but if you get people like that on your side, they'll break their backs for you."

Sasha, Annie, and Mikasa are dancing semiclose to a slow Billy Joel dance tune. Annie's no great shakes as a dancer, leaden in the legs and shoulder. Sasha was getting pretty into it though, even if her dancing looked kind of stupid to some. "So, what's your name, Mikasa something-man...?" Annie says loudly, in the hopes the girl will follow so she can hear. "Mikasa Ackerman." "Ah. Sounds like a movie star or something. Where are you from?" She bumps into an elderly couple dancing, ignores them. "Shiganshina..." "Shiganshina? Where's that?" "Look, it doesn't really matter. I'm getting a headache." "I'm just trying to be polite. Connie and Sasha encouraged me." "I've got enough friends -- and I don't need another one, especially one who just got off of the banana boat." Annie makes a point of looking at her. "Hey, I didn't come over on some damn 'banana boat'. I'm a political refugee." "Oh, part of the Cuban crime wave?" Annie, pissed, bangs once more into the elderly couple. The man stops dancing, looks at her exasperated but Annie doesn't see. "Why are you feeling the need to be so aggressive, what's the matter with y-" Mikasa interrupted, as Sasha watched the two talk with an amused expression on her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were so sensitive about your diplomatic status." "...Is there a particular reason why you have this vendetta against the world? You have a nice face, haircut, you have great legs, you have fancy clothes and clear skin. What's the problem? Not enough sex from your grandpa cousin over there?" Mikasa laughs dryly. "You know, you're even dumber than you look. Let me give you a crash course, Raggedy Ann whatever your name is, so you know what you're doing around here." "Now you're talking to me, baby." "First, who, where, why and how I fuck is none of your business, second don't call me 'baby', I'm not your baby and last, even if I was blind, desperate, starved and begging for it on a desert island, you'd be the last thing I'd ever fuck. You have the picture now -- so fuck off."

Sasha, Annie, and Connie drive home in the broken down Monte Carlo sedan through the streets of Little Havana. They've been partying all night, clothes rumpled, Annie chewing some mint-flavored gum, feeling good. "That chick the short dude's with... she loves us." Annie says, hands on the wheel. "Oh yeah, how do you know that?" "The eyes, Sasha... they don't lie." "You're serious? I thought that was Levi's lady. He'll kill us, dude." "What are you talking about? I was just joking about them being in a relationship earlier. I'm pretty sure Levi is around 35 or so, and Mikasa has to be at least ten years younger than him. Also, not that this would stop them, but they ARE cousins. Even if he would, I'm not scared of a man that looks like a shredded 12 year old boy." "Whatever you say, Annie."


	8. Mina

The new Miami is rising ubiquitously above Biscayne Bay, blossoming skyscrapers, workmen, huge cranes, glass, palm trees growing upwards into a beautiful blue florida sky. Annie and Sasha, on a shopping spree, sop along an incredibly luxurious shopping mall lined with the latest stores, fashions, escalators, music, tropical plants, a truly beautiful plastic heaven.

"I should've been here 5 years ago, Sasha. This town is like a big.. vageebor as you so eloquently put it, dying to get fucked. This is like paradise compared to my hometown. I could've been a millionaire. Joined a golf club, gotten a boat, all that trash." "I want to start, like, a fashion line or something one day. You know, become one of those rich businessmen that are all fancy and shit but they have the dark criminal pasts and stuff. That stuff, from the movies, is cool." "Yeah. We've got to make some moves on our own Sasha, otherwise we're never going to score the big money working for Erwin." "I dunno, Erwin seems okay." "Yeah -- because he buys you a suit? You're thinking like an idiot again. Weren't you listening when he said 'never underestimate the other guy's greed'?" "Erwin's got an organization, though." "Organization? I have more brains than Auruo and he's higher up than we are. That's not an organization. That's a disorganization." "What do you do for a brain, man? Piss in it?" "Screw you, somebody ought to shoot you and put you out of your misery." "Sure, Annie." Sasha laughed.

The house, bathed by a torpid setting sun amicable to lizards and Spanish moss, sits undistinguished and without shielding trees in the midst of a lower middle class neighborhood with look-alike yards and streets without people. From her battered Monte Carlo across the curb, Annie, spruced up and nervous in a new suit, gets out carrying a bag of gifts. Sasha is at the wheel, curious. Connie stretches his neck out from the back seat to see. "Be back in an hour, alright? Here's some magazines and a candy bar for you two to share." She took the aforementioned items out of the bag and laid them on the dash before walking up to the house. Annie held the paper bag high on her chest before knocking on the front door. A stout aging ginger-haired woman with a powerful face opens the door, and upon seeing Annie she's shook to her roots. "Mother. It's been a long time." Annie said gently.

"No postcards from jail, huh?" She doesn't offer to kiss her, nor she her. Stepmother pauses. Someone else is in the house. Mother looks behind her. She opens the door, looks back as if she has no choice. Annie steps in. She looks.

The interior is comprised of small, narrow rooms filled with religious objects from macumba and waist-high black Jesus statues in various corners. The floor is without rugs and designed in a mosaic with inexpensive, Aztec-type tiles, the impression clean, cluttered, Catholic, somewhat depressing. Stepping forward to the center of the living room like a cautious cat is her adoptive sister/best friend/roommate Mina. Their eyes lock, and Annie is moved.

"Hi Mina..." "Annie?" She looks at her mother confused. She's a naturally dark, straight-haired beauty with a slim, graceful figure and large-lidded eyes brimming with the same energy as Annie's. She doesn't look too different than from when the snapshot of her Annie has in her wallet was taken. Annie tried to cover her unwonted emotion. "Look at you, Mina, you're beautiful... What has it been, seven years? I remember when you were still smaller than me, now you're like a giant compared to me." She holds out a wrapped gift towards Mina, about to give it. "I got this for you, it's no big deal but..." "Oh Annie!" Mina suddenly dashes across the room and rushes into her arms, holding her tightly. "It's you!" Annie, over Mina's shoulder, catches her mother's eyes boring into her stonily. "I never thought I'd see you again -- never!" Annie, over her shoulder, opens the gift. "Hey Mii, come on -- you think they can keep a woman like me down?" Disengaging gently, she holds up the contents of the gift box in front of her. It's a beautiful diamond locket to wear around her neck. Her eyes open wide. "Yeah, for you... and look here what I had written on it." "To Mina from Annie. Always. It's beautiful Annie, it's just beautiful..." The stepmother is amazed at the cost of the gift. Annie pulls out another present, for her. "For you too, mother, look." Moving towards her, she opens the package and pulls out an exquisite pearl necklace. She stares at it, doesn't take it. Mina comes over, takes it for her.

"It's beautiful... Mama." Mina offers it, an unspoken 'why don't you take it?'. Mama doesn't. Mina puts it away with her own. Annie holds Mina by the shoulder, making light of it. "Well, anyway, here we are, huh? The three musketeers. We made it to America, hmm? Let's toast!" Tossing the empty package aside, she pulls the last gift -- a bottle of champagne. Together, Mina and Annie sing. "Oye! To America! America, America..." Mama, with things on her mind, is silently cooking a meal, as Annie and Mina finish the champagne at the kitchen table. "So Mama's still at the factory and I'm working part-time at a beauty parlor. I get to do hair. Remember Klaus Muller? His father had the barbershop?" Annie nods. "It's his place. Plus I'm going to college -- Miami Dade -- I know I'm a little old for it, but it's never too late to start. In two more years I get my cosmetology license and then I'll be making enough-" "Yes, well surprise, all that'll be over with starting today. I didn't do that blood brother thing with you so you would end up working in a hair shop all by yourself." Annie showed the cut scar that was still present on her palm. Mama looks over at her on the words "blood brother" and she catches her look. "... and Mama don't have to sew in no factory." Annie honestly wasn't that attached to her most recent maternal figure, but she did it for Mina. She pulls out a bundle of cash, fifties and hundreds, and starts peeling them off on the table. Mama stops working, looks.

"Yes, your daughter's made it Mama, she's a success. I wanted to surprise you. That's why I didn't show my face around here before. I wanted you to see what a good girl I've been." She said nonchalantly as she counted the cash and pushed a thousand dollar stack towards her. "That's a thousand dollars right there, Mama -- for you. She approaches it cautiously, her fingers riffling the bills, then looks back at her daughter.

"Who'd you kill for this, Annie?" Mina was aghast. "Mama!" "I didn't kill anyone, Mama." She lied. "No? Then what are you doing now -- banks or is it still bodegas, you and the others?" "Come on, Mama. Things are different. I'm working with this anti-Castro group- I'm an organizer now, we get a lot of political contributions...." " _Sure_ you do Annie -- with a gun sticking in somebody's face. All we ever read about in the papers is the animals like you and the killings, what about the Cubans who come here and work hard and make a good name for themselves? What about-" Mina sprung to her feet. "What are you saying, Mama! She's your daughter!" "Daughter? I wish I had one. She isn't even my own, just the damn leftovers of the disaster that was the Leonhardts. She was a good for nothing bum then and she's a good for nothing bum now!" Mama got up in Annie's face, worked up like a madwoman now.

"Just who do you think you are, we haven't heard a word from you in five years and you suddenly show up here and throw some money around and you think you can get my respect? You think you can buy me with jewelry? You think you can come into MY house with your hotshot clothes and your gutter manners and make fun of-" "Hey Mama, come on, you don't know what you're talking about..." "No, no, that's not the way I am Annie and that's not the way I raised your friend here to be. You're not going to destroy her. Thanks, but I don't need your blood money. I work for my living -- and I don't want you in this house anymore and I don't want you around Mina. So leave us alone... go on, get out! And take this lousy money with you, it stinks!" She casts the bundle of bills back across the table at her like dead lettuce. Silence. Tony sits there livid, soothing her scar, about to explode, but doesn't. Mina mutters something in the silence. "Mama... why do you always feel the need to have to spoil it for everybody. I'm so sorry Annie, I..." Annie nods her head at her mother, speaking in a soft and gentle tone. "Okay, Mama, okay..." She walked out, icily.

Sasha was waiting in the car, having finished the magazines. Connie was still distracted with them, sitting in the back with his feet kicked up on the back of Sasha's seat. Sasha saw Annie's expression. "Thank god Annie, you finished just as I ran out of things to do. Relatives, huh? I know they can be a real pain in the ass, they--" "Shut up!" She's climbing into the car when Mina hurries out of the house. "Annie!" "Hey, who's that?" Sasha quickly checked herself in the rearview mirror, fixes her hair. Mina and Annie talk next to the car. "Annie, Mama... since Papa took off along with her other husbands..." "Hey, forget Papa, we never had one, okay? He was a bum!" "...she's got a lot of hate in her Annie, she's proud, you have to understand that!" Annie made light of it now. "Hey, it's okay, it's Mama, what do you want, she's Old World." "I know you did some bad things back then. I know you got into some trouble." "Communists you know, they're always trying to tell you what to do." "Mama, she doesn't understand- but I just want you to know, y'know, I don't care. Five years, ten years, twenty years, it doesn't matter how long you've been away, you're my blood. Always." Pause. She stares intently at her, emphasizing it. "Hey I know.. I know." She gives her a soft kiss. Annie takes out her money roll. "Say, I want you to keep this for yourself. Alright? Help Mama out, but don't tell her I gave you this, alright?"

She hesitates. Annie nudges her on the cheek and slaps the whole wad into her palm. "Go on! Go out and have some fun, why not? You're going to beat yourself to death before you even turn 30? Don't make the same mistake I did." Annie gets in the car. Mina peers in. "You can come by the shop y'know, any afternoon, I'll be there, okay?" Her eyes fall on Sasha at the wheel. Sasha smiles back with charm. Mina's eyes pause on her, then withdraw. The sedan drives off.

Sasha was driving. "Hey, how come you never told me you had such a good-looking doll for a sister!" Annie looks at her icily. "Stay away Sasha, don't ever let me catch you fucking around with her. We aren't related by blood, but she's like my life partner." "...Sure."


	9. Jaguar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for incest/abuse (not romanticized or shipped, but it is a thing that exists- mostly because since mikasa is partially taking the role of elvira, i feel like she wouldn't really have the same role if annie wasn't 'taking' her from someone of higher status/importance that would also get pissed if mikasa scadoodly dooed her ass out of there, if my creative choice doesnt seem like it makes much sense like i wouldnt just add it in for angst or something annie already has plenty of that) also this chapter is vaguely gay and this is turning into one of those cliche romance movies im so so RR Y

Erwin Smith has Annie and Connie out on the golf course. Annie has never played before and gets frustrated, swings her club at the ball like a baseball bat -- Smith getting a kick out of her. Connie naturally makes a perfect putt, shrugging when Annie looks over at him amazed.

The Smith condo continued to stand proudly above the golden shores of Miami. Mikasa steps out of the lobby into the driveway. Annie is waiting for her. Mikasa raises a thin eyebrow, somewhat surprised by the woman's presence.

"Erwin and Levi got held up at the golf club. Levi told me to pick you up. He'll meet us at the race track." Mikasa contemplated her with distaste. "Also, he said if he was late to bet 'Ice Cream' in the first." Mikasa sighs, walks across the lobby. Annie follows. She steps out, wearing a light blue cardigan over a black shirt and jeans, scarf tied around her waist. She looks around, unsure of where the car is. "Over there." Her eyes fall on a yellow Cadillac convertible with 2 big fins and a kitty dashboard statue with stickers plastered all over the fenders. Adding to the lackluster impression are Sasha and Connie waiting in the backseat. Mikasa stared, before registering it with distate.

"That thing? You must be kidding." Annie was offended. "What do you mean? That's a Cadillac." "I wouldn't be caught dead in that thing." "It has a few years on it but it's not that bad. I'd rather support my family than waste money on a fancier car just to impress you." "It looks like somebody's nightmare." "Suck it up. It's not like you aren't going to get in regardless of whether I'm driving a Ferrari or a rusty wagon with three wheels."

They drove for a bit, before reaching Luxury Motor Sales - located in Coral Gables. There's a slick red jaguar -- XG 6 -- with Annie, accompanied by Sasha, Connie, and the salesman. Mikasa waits aloofly off to the side. "So, do you like this better?" Annie gestured towards the car. Mikasa shrugged. "It has style." "Yeah, it looks like one of the tigers from India." Annie leaned in towards Mikasa. "Sasha has been dragging me around to the zoos all week, looking at tigers. She wants to buy one of them too. If she does that she's not going to have any friends left." Sasha overheard their conversation. "You'll like the tiger Annie, you'll see. "Are you going to drive around with a tiger in your passenger seat, Annie?" "Maybe a lady tiger." She looked at the salesman. "How much?"

"Twenty-eight thousand dollars. Fully equipped." "Is that all?" "Machine gun turrets are extra." Annie circled the car, running her fingers lightly across the surface. "It appears we have a comedian. Sasha, come here." Sasha comes over and Annie walks her along the car, in quieter tones. "Okay wait Annie, before you say anything, let me tell you my idea. Get these sections bullet-proofed... here... here... these windows..." "Yes." "...and a phone with a scrambler." "Okay." "...And one of those radio scanners, you know, pick out flying saucers and weird stuff when we're way out in the country." "If you say so." "Don't forget the fog lights." Mikasa chimed in. "Ooh yeah, in case we go to the swamps, good idea." Mikasa was growing impatient. "I thought you were taking me to Smith?" Annie glanced at her watch. "We still have an hour. Are you hungry?" "No but I'm bored." "Figures. Sasha, Connie, check the car out and pay the guy and grab a taxi out to the track." "Alright, Annie."

Before leaving, Annie reaches into her pocket and pulls out a decal, an inside joke. She slaps it on the rear fender. It's the same sticker from earlier of the American flag with the epitaph, "Will the last American leaving Miami please bring the flag." Mikasa wonders about it as she joins her. "Somebody has to keep the animals out."

Annie leads her to her yellow Cadillac convertible parked out of eyesight of the others. "I'm glad you came. Having a second opinion helps, and you seem to have pretty good taste." "Planning on driving the girls crazy, aren't you?" "Sure, why not. You know who." They get in the car. "And what would Levi say?" Annie glanced at her, confused. "What do you mean? Is he protective of his little cousin?" She said, with a condescending amusement in her eyes. "I'm his woman, occasionally." "You mean-" "Yes, sexual relations. With Erwin and I." "Oh, so the cousins thing was a nickname–" "No." Annie stared at the brunette, her mouth hanging open. It wasn't so much a state of shock and confusion, as it was just "What the hell?". Annie quickly saved herself from falling down the treacherous route of emoting, and defaulted back to her disinterested and cold expression. "Mikasa..." She began, letting out a sigh as she held her head down on the steering wheel. Mikasa has a coke vial out, casually hits one nostril, then the other, and takes a last hit through the mouth. "I mean, I won't judge you, but why..?"

"I'd rather not talk about it. Can we just go?" "Look, I like Levi... but I like you better." She reaches over and takes the coke from her. Takes a quick hit, continuing to stare at Mikasa. She looks on, confused. When she finishes Annie makes as if to return it to her. She leans to take it. Their hands touch. Red slowly leaked into her cheeks as Mikasa quickly bit her lip. "--Don't get confused, _Annie_. I don't fuck around with the help. Besides, I'm not gay. If you are, fine, but I like dudes." As she puts the key into the ignition, Annie feels the threats of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.


	10. Warchief Zeke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here cum dat antagonist!!!! o shit waddup!!! though to be fair pretty much everyone in the story is an antagonist because criminals and shit also im sorry if erwin levi and zeke may seem kind of wasted later its hard for me i love pretty much all of the characters in snk but its hard for me to give them all focus plus really this fic is about annie sasha connie and mikasa, also for those of you who dont know warchief zeke is the guy inside the beast titan in snk canon, probably also around here is when eren armin ymir historia etc can begin to emerge tho i may end up having to cut them and save them for another ficmcdick

The Bolivian jungle was a humid, snake and other unsightly creeply-crawly-ridden plethora of swamp alligators and poisonous plants. It was a sight of tall bamboo sticks and entangled trees with wet and muddy leaves. It was nothing short of a huge, green monster that seemed to have a life all its own. Monkeys and tropical birds could be heard off in the distance. The weather was hot and humid, prompting Annie to take her jacket off.

Ezekiel Sosa is a somewhat older man; about six-foot-two, blonde wavy hair, athletic body and a slight tan, the clothes, a casual t-shirt under a hooded sweatshirt and military fatigues. He didn't particularly look like a drug overlord other than the unkempt serial killer beard and long hair. On his wrist is a flashy gold ID braclet with 'Zeke' written in diamonds and on the other wrist a gold Rolex with a bezel full of diamonds worth maybe $30,000. His eyes fizzle with an energy derived not from drugs but the continual excitement his line of work brought, as well as his money. Accompanying him everywhere is the Shadow, a stocky, warm-looking young man in his twenties. Dark freckles are spread across the bridge of his nose and his cheeks, making him look even less intimidating. He is always in proximity to his _Jefe_ , usually slightly behind the person or persons addressing Sosa -- in a sort of uncomfortable and stiff position, his amber eyes swivelling to stare at the person who might glance at him. Despite his unintimidating appearance, he serves a continual source of tension underplaying the conversations, particularly coming to affect Auruo who is insecure to begin with.

Sosa is showing Annie and Auruo through his coke processing lab, past four coal-fired stoves, each with massive iron kettles bubbling with coca paste...across to a row of ovens where the refined coke dries. The chemists and Germans working there all acknowledge Zeke as he passes, as proud of his factory as a vine grower his vineyard. "So as you can see, with this and my other factory, I can guarantee production of 200 kilos refined every month of the year. Problem is, I have no steady market. Some months I can't get rid of fifty keys, other months I have to do 2 to 300 keys, it's crazy, huh? Nobody can run a business that way-" "I know what you mean Mr. Sosa, we have the same problems up in Miami, the demand varies for us too, month to month..." Auruo interjected. Sosa looks at him like that's obvious and moves on. In his skinny suit, with the wet cigarette clamped between his nervous fingers, Auruo's not quite in his league with Sosa.

Annie, awed by the scope of it all, follows along, stopping to look at a sample of the dried coke. The shadow stops, eyeballs her trying to get a better look at her features. Annie eyeballs him back, playing a game with him, then samples the coke off her thumb into her nose. Pause. Her expression looks pleased, or as pleased as a grumpy teenager in a 23 year old's body can look. She moves on. The Shadow moves with her.

"...Basically what I'm looking for here is somebody to share the risks with me, somebody in the States who might guarantee me something like-- say 150 kilos a month."

"That's a big commitment Mr. Sosa. It's too bad Erwin's not here. Something like that, you should talk to him."

"Yes, it would've been nice if he could have come."

Annie cut in. "And he'd like meeting you too, Sosa. But with his trial coming up, it's not so easy for him to slip out of the country right now. Do you understand?"

Sosa took in the measure of Annie, and replied with cutting sarcasm in his voice. "So he sent a little girl?"

"Yes, something along those lines. You have some good stuff in there, Mr. Sosa -- I don't like to be so informal with my speech, but it was good shit."

Looking over the laboratory like it was his, Auruo glances at her, annoyed.

"We'll talk at my house. Shall we go?"

Past a spectacular view of the mountains to a cavernous dining room highlighted by huge paintings from the various political German art movements during WWI and WWII and ornate candelabras.At the table are Sosa, Auruo, and Annie. The Shadow sits impassively in a folding chair off to the side, watching Auruo and Annie. Annie is impressed, looking at the plates, the glasses, the silverware, the sheer scale of the operation made Erwin's look like child's play in comparison. She eats the salmon off a silver plate with graceful movements of her knife and fork as the servants move to and fro, constantly changing dishes.

Sosa glances over at Auruo. "Say Smith guarantees me 150 keys a month for a year, and he picks it up down here, I could sell it to him for as little as 7000 a kilo. You cannot do better than that.

"Well, we do that we have to take the risk of moving it. Also we'd be cutting out the Columbians. You know what that means?"

"That means we go to war with them." Annie said nonchalantly. Sosa looks over at her, not quite knowing yet what to make of this woman, but so far he found himself fixating on her.

"When we cut out the Columbians we take risks -- on both sides."

"Split the risk. Guarantee your delivery as far as Panama." Auruo stared daggers into Annie, for she was making him look like even more of a fool than he already was.

"Panama? Risky? It costs me more. There I'd sell maybe 13.5 a key."

"13.5? What are you, insane? We still have to take the shit to Florida. Do you know what that's like, these days? They have the Navy all over the goddamn place. They have frogmen, they have EC 2s with satellite tracking shit in them, they have fucking Bell 209 assault choppers up the ass, we're losing one out of every nine loads. It's no duckwalk for us anymore, you know. Forget it." Auruo is looking at her, ready to explode at her blithe assumption of power -- whereas Sosa chuckles, amused by her brashness, his interest piqued.

"What do you suggest is a fair- Excuse me." Interrupted, Sosa looks over at his white-haired aide who suddenly appears at the door, apparently with a message. Sosa waves her in.

The aide, The Skull -- is a slim, short but imposing woman with academic, horn-rimmed glasses and hair in a bob cut. She combines the physical qualities of an animal with an intellectual, and looks sort of like an alternate-universe version of Annie. As she approaches, she glances down the table, her eyes falling briefly on Auruo who doesn't connect. The skull falters -- just for a moment -- then continues toward Sosa with the same stony, loyal expression.

Sosa lends his ear and the Skull whispers her information. A beat. She whispers a second thought. Sosa reacts minimally. Then he nods, dismissing the Skull who heads out of the room. Sosa glances at his gold Rolex. Meanwhile, Auruo hurriedly leaned in towards Annie, stretching from his seat next to her like silly putty. "Shut up, will you Leonhardt, I'm doing the talking here!" He says in an angry whisper. Annie looks unaffected, shrugs.

"Alright, where were we?" "Panama. You're looking for a partner, right?" Auruo shoots a poisonous glance at Annie. "...Something like that, sure." He chuckles. "Look, Mr. Sosa, we're getting ahead of ourselves here. I'm down on Erwin's authority to buy 200 keys, that's it, that's my limit. I got no right to negotiate for Erwin Smith on anything larger than that. So why don't we all just..."

"Auruo, why don't you let the man finish? Let him propose whatever it is he'd like to propose."

"Hey Leonhardt, you have no authority here, okay?! I started you in this business, all right, so shut the fuck up!"

Sosa glances at Auruo, a bemused smirk on his face as the smaller man flipped on Annie. Annie shrugs. "I think Erwin will like it. Don't worry about it."

"That's up to Erwin -- not you." He looks embarrassed at Sosa who has been watching the exchange, sensing a potential advantage in the split. "I'm sorry about this, Mr. Sosa..."

"It's quite all right. Maybe your partner's right. Maybe you should talk to Erwin."

"Okay. I don't think this is something I want to do on an overseas phone, but I can go back to Miami and talk to Erwin personally." Annie's eyes flickered towards him.

"Good. My chopper can take you to Santa Cruz now. I have a jet there that'll have you in Miami in five hours. You can be back here tomorrow. For lunch." He grinned.

Auruo is taken aback by the speed of the plan. "Yeah, I guess so..."

"Good." Annie said.

Sosa glanced at Annie, before turning back to Auruo. "Leave your friend here. While you're gone, maybe she can tell me how to run my business."

Auruo looked at Annie, somewhat concerned. She pulled out a piece of gum and put it in her mouth. "It's fine. You tell Erwin. I'll keep this guy on ice for him." Sosa laughs. Auruo scowls.

The helicopter blades whirr. The Skull waits inside with the Shadow. They both stare at Auruo, who, with one hesitant look, steps inside. The chopper lifts off the lawn, and there are polo players exercising in the distance. A woman on a horse rides by and we swing with her towards the villa. Sosa walks Annie down an outside gallery towards the veranda where servants lay out the coffee and fruits.

"You know why they say Cubans are all fucked up?" Annie was significantly less tense and a little more polite thanks to the coke.

"Why?"

"Because the island's in the Caribbean, the government's in Russia, the Army's in Angola, and the people live in Miami."

Sosa laughs. They reach the Veranda, Annie glancing past Sosa to a dark-haired, green-eyed woman who gets of her horse, held by a servant, and joins them. "Maybe he'll move to Miami too... Gabriella, my rose -- how was the ride?" Sosa changes his personality completely with her, dewy-eyed and loving. They peck each other's cheek lightly.

"Lovely.. but the sheep in the north pasture, they're destroying the grass, it's turning yellow. You must move them, darling." Gabriella said.

"I'll take care of it myself."

"And don't forget we have the Rinaldi's at eight."

"Of course not. Uh -- an associate of mine. From Miami. Annie Leonhardt.." He gestured towards Gabriella. "Annie, my fiance Gabriella Montini."

"Hello." Gabriella nods to her in that somewhat uninterested, rude, upperclass way.

"It's a pleasure, Annie." She withdraws. Annie watches her go.

"I have to give you some credit. You have everything a man could want." Sosa, pleased, reaches for an expensive set of binoculars on the patio table, looks up through them, at the helicopter rising off the lawn.

Sosa focuses the binoculars. "I like you, Annie. There's no lying in you. Unfortunately I do not feel the same way about the rest of your organization."

Annie glances up at the choppers, the servant pouring coffee for her. "What are you getting at, Sosa?" Annie tilted her head to the side, interested in what he had to say.

"I mean Auruo Bossard." Puzzled, Annie glances up again at the chopper which now hovers there, high above the estate. Sosa passes her the binoculars.

"This garbage was recognized by several of my associates at lunch. In New York. He was an informant for the police years ago." Annie, not that surprised, looks up through the binoculars.

Auruo, terrified, was being positioned at the door of the chopper by the Shadow and the Skull, his hands tied to his back and a length of thick rope looped around his neck, struggling backwards in vain.

"He put Vito Duval and the Ramos Brothers -- Nello and Gino -- away for life. My associate used to work up there."

Through the binoculars -- they throw Auruo out of the choppers and he flies downwards and jerks back up as the rope stretches taut, snapping his neck. He hangs there like a broken doll on a string as the chopper moves out of sight. Silence. Sosa watches her closely. Annie was shaken, though not visibly, as she lowered the binoculars. She looks back at Sosa. Sosa goes over, pours himself some coffee.

"So how do I know you're not a _chivato_ too, Annie?"

Annie walks up to him, and looks him straight in the eyes. "Sosa -- I need you to get this straight right now. I've never fucked anyone over in my life that didn't have it coming to them, okay? All I have is my two tits, my word -- and I don't break them for anyone. That piece of **shit** up there, I never liked him nor did I trust him. He never gave me any reason to. For all I know, he's the one who set me up and got my friend Franz Kefka killed. But that's in the past. I'm here. He is not. If you want to go on with me, say it. If you don't, make your move."

Sosa quickly moved away. "I think you speak from the heart Leonhardt, but I say to myself this Smith -- your boss -- he has _chivatos_ like that working for him, his judgement stinks. So I think to myself, what other mistakes this Smith made, how can I trust his organization, huh? You tell me, Annie."

"Erwin's smart. Don't blame him for that waste of space. It's an understandably crazy business we're in, it can happen to anybody -- even you. I'll talk to Erwin myself. I'll fix this thing between you two. You have my word on that."

Sosa approaches Annie, focusing an intense stare on her, making an elaborate gesture of putting his hand out. Annie following the pantomime, puts hers out. Sosa now grips them tightly. "You speak with your eyes, Annie. I think -- you and I -- we can work this thing out, do business a long time together. Just remember -- it's the thing I am ever going to tell you -- don't fuck me Annie, don't ever try to fuck me." Their eyes locked together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if it isn't clear the shadow is Marco and the skull is rico lel

**Author's Note:**

> yayyy we're off to a fine start- i'll generally update this every week or so but feedback/suggestions/similar junk is appreciated! this is also gonna get darker/edgier real quick so like i said, please exercise caution! this chapt may be a little lackluster but i promise it'll get better


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